A wide variety of different types of cables are utilized to transmit power and/or communications signals. In certain types of cables, it is desirable to provide separation for internal cable components. For example, certain cables make use of multiple twisted pairs of conductors to communicate signals. In each pair, the wires are twisted together in a helical fashion to form a balanced transmission line. When twisted pairs are placed in close proximity, such as within the core of a cable, electrical energy may be transferred from one pair of the cable to another pair. Such energy transfer between pairs is undesirable and is referred to as crosstalk. Crosstalk causes interference to the information being transmitted through the twisted pairs and can reduce the data transmission rate and cause an increase in bit rate error. Interlinking typically occurs when two adjacent twisted pairs are pressed together, and interlinking can lead to an increase in crosstalk among the wires of adjacent twisted pairs.
In order to improve crosstalk performance, separators (also referred to as separation fillers, fillers, interior supports, or splines) have been inserted into many conventional cables. Many conventional separators, such as conventional cross-filler separators, include separate projections that extend between various sets of adjacent twisted pairs within a cable core to limit or prevent interlinking of the twisted pairs. However, conventional separators typically include projections or fins that continuously extend along a longitudinal length of a cable, thereby increasing an amount of required material and reducing the overall flexibility of the separators and cables. Accordingly, there is an opportunity for improved separator structures that include longitudinally spaced projections, as well as for cables incorporating the separators.